"I wanted it to be a low-key thing," said the 44-year-old, who was looking for a bit of a break after spending more than a decade cooking and serving day and night at Le Timbre (postage stamp), a tiny but much-loved Parisian eatery.

Photo: Googlemaps

"Looking at it from that point of view, it's been a bit of a disaster," he told AFP.

"I was hoping to wind down with a quiet little place were you could get a nice slice of ham and cheese. I failed there," he laughed.

But word spread quickly around the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Park in which the village is set, with locals flocking to wonder at the British man who could cook.

"By mid-July it was mad and I had to get a bit of help," said Wright hours before he received the prize from Le Fooding, France's trendiest food and restaurant guide.

Marks & Spencer

Wright's unexpected victory -- to him at least -- came as the British supermarket chain Marks & Spencer was listed as one of the best places for takeaway food in the French capital by the same guide.

Parisians have long had a love affair with the brand and there was an outcry when it pulled out of France in 2001. But it returned with a vengeance five years ago and now has 18 outlets mostly selling food in and around the French capital.